NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NEWS
MEDIA CONTACT: Kristin Samuelson at 847-491-4888 or [email protected]
MEDIA ADVISORY: January 21, 2016
NORTHWESTERN PROFESSOR ON OSCARS’ DIVERSITY CONTROVERSYAcademy ‘incapable of recognizing the work of people of color when limited to five’ nominees
EVANSTON, Ill. – Some reports have indicated the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will react early next week to the controversy surrounding its 2016 Oscar nominations and their lack of diversity by possibly adding nominees to some categories.
“Odds are that this approach will be effective because it sends a very loud message to Academy members that these additional nominations should be considered ‘diversity slots,’” said Harvey Young, a professor of radio, television and film, theatre, performance studies and African-American studies in the School of Communication at Northwestern University. “Unfortunately, it also signals how intractable the problem of race is within the current system. In short, the leaders are throwing their hands up and acknowledging that the current system and current voters are incapable of recognizing the work of people of color when limited to selecting five actors, actresses, films and so on.”
Harvey Young is available for interviews Thursday on this topic. Background and contact information on Harvey is below:
Harvey Young is a professor of radio, television and film, theatre, performance studies and African-American studies in the School of Communication at Northwestern. His research on the performance and experience of race has been widely published in academic journals, profiled in The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal and The Chronicle of Higher Education, and he as been cited in The New York Times and The Boston Globe. Read his full bio here. He can be reached at 847-708-4060 or [email protected].
NORTHWESTERN NEWS: www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/
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